How To Become An Advanced Systems Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an advanced systems engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Andrea Welker Ph.D.

Advanced systems engineers work across various departments of a company to manage and develop IT systems. They create and implement new software systems, analyze and improve existing ones. Overall, they are responsible for increasing the productivity of a company.

Working in this position, you will be concerned with balancing various aspects of a project, tackling complex issues related to software architecture and system dynamics. You will likely be hired by a large corporation and work alongside other IT professionals.

People generally rise to this position through years of experience working as an engineer. You gradually gain enough overview of the various operations moving the company forward to take on the role of the systems engineer. A degree in computer science or software engineering is often required for this role.

What general advice would you give to an advanced systems engineer?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.

ScoreAdvanced Systems EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $109,257

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 11.87%

Black or African American 8.59%

Hispanic or Latino 12.29%

Unknown 5.06%

White 61.88%

Gender

female 16.63%

male 83.37%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an advanced systems engineer

Explore advanced systems engineer education requirements

Most common advanced systems engineer degrees

Bachelor's

74.7 %

Master's

13.1 %

Associate

7.9 %

Start to develop specific advanced systems engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
DOD	12.32%
C++	8.68%
Management System	8.62%
Project Management	6.64%
Java	6.51%

Complete relevant advanced systems engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New advanced systems engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an advanced systems engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real advanced systems engineer resumes.

Research advanced systems engineer duties and responsibilities

Lead a group of 5 Z/OS systems programmers who maintain 2 Z/OS main frames.
Install new Hitachi 7700E DASD and lead migration effort off of old IBM 3390 DASD.
Work in the computer center managing VMS cluster used by faculty, staff, and students.
Recruit to manage, expand, and optimize CICS regions across testing and production environments during rapid business growth.

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When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your advanced systems engineer resume.

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